PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST NO.

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MAUDSLEY PERSONALITY INVENTORY BY H.J. EYSENCK

(CONTENT HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW COLOR MUST NOT BE COPIED CARELESSLY. PLEASE

READ AND THEN WRITE)

AIM
To assess the personality of the subject using the Maudsley Personality Inventory

BASIC CONCEPT
Personality refers to the relatively stable patterns of behavior. It determines our characteristic ways of
responding to individuals and situations. All individuals carry different and unique personalities that are
reflected in their diverse behaviors and which do not easily change with time. A number of approaches
and theories attempt to understand and explain personality. Some important approaches to study
personality are type, trait, psychodynamic, behavioral, cultural and humanistic approaches.

The type approaches of personality comprehend human personality by examining the broad patterns in
the observed behaviors of individuals. However, the trait approaches focus on the basic components or
the ‘building blocks’ of personality along which individuals differ in consistent and stable ways. For
example, one individual may be less shy, whereas another may be more; or one person may be less
aggressive, whereas another may be more aggressive. Here ‘shyness’ and ‘aggressiveness’ represent
traits along which individuals differ in terms of the degree of these traits.

Trait Theories of Personality

There are several trait theories to understand human personality such as: theory of cardinal, central and
secondary personality traits by Gordon Allport; theory of source traits and surface traits by Raymond
Cattell; and Big Five Factors of Personality or the OCEAN Model of Personality by Paul Costa & Robert
McCrae. Another trait theory of personality on which the Maudsley Personality Inventory is based is
given by H. J. Eysenck. Eysenck proposed that personality could be reduced into two broad dimensions
which are biologically and genetically based. Each dimension subsumes a number of specific traits.
These dimensions are:
Neuroticism vs. Emotional stability: It refers to the degree to which people have control over their
feelings.
• Neuroticism: At one extreme of the dimension, there are individuals who are neurotic. They are
emotionally unstable, anxious, moody, touchy, restless, fearful, distressed, worried and they quickly lose
control over their emotions. They are the people characterized by high levels of negative affect such as
depression and anxiety. People high on neuroticism are unable to inhibit or control their emotional
reactions. They easily experience negative affect (fight-or-flight) in the face of very minor stressors.
• Emotional Stability: At the other extreme of the dimension are the people who are calm, even-tempered,
reliable, remain under control and are emotionally stable. Emotionally stable people have good
emotional control, experience negative affect only in the face of very major stressors. They are calm and
collected under pressure.

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 Extraversion vs. Introversion: It refers to the degree to which people are socially outgoing or socially
withdrawn.
• Extraversion: At one extreme of the dimension are those who are socially active, outgoing talkative,
gregarious, impulsive and thrill-seeking. They are high on positive affect (feeling good), and are in need
of external stimulation.
• Introversion: At the other extreme of the dimension are the people who are socially withdrawn, passive,
quiet, cautious, reserved and prefer solitary activities.
Many people fall in the midrange of the extraversion-introversion continuum, an area referred to as
ambiversion. These individuals can be understood as ambiverts.
In a later work, Eysenck proposed a third dimension, called Psychoticism vs. Sociability. A person who
scores high on psychoticism dimension tends to be hostile, egocentric, and antisocial. On the other
extreme, an individual high on sociability is cooperative and sociable. A test- Eysenck Personality
Questionnaire is used for studying these dimensions of personality.

METHODOLOGY
Details of the subject
Name : ABC
Age : ____ years
Sex : Male/Female
Occupation : _______ (Mention if student)
Place : Psychology Laboratory
Materials required
MPI Manual, MPI Response Sheet, MPI Answer Key (Stencil), Pencils and Eraser

Description of the test

MPI is a verbal and self- report measure that is based on the work of the British psychologist Hans
Eysenck who developed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire to measure the two dimensions of
personality-Neuroticism and Extraversion. This came to be known as Maudsley Personality Inventory
after the Maudsley Hospital in Denmark Hill, London, where Eysenck used to work. Maudsley Hospital
has, in turn, been named after the English psychiatrist Henry Maudsley (1835–1918) who had founded
it. MPI gives us a measure of Neuroticism (or emotionality) and Extraversion. Each of these dimensions
is measured by 24 questions (or items) and hence, the test has a total of 48 questions that are carefully
selected after lengthy item analyses and factor analysis. Neuroticism refers to the general emotional
stability of a person, their emotional over-responsiveness and the stability to neurotic breakdown under
stress. Extraversion, as opposed to introversion, refers to the outgoing, uninhibited and sociable
proclivities of a person. Both of these dimensions are quite independent of each other.

Since MPI contains 48 items, which may be too many to ask from the respondent, a short form of the
MPI has also been prepared. This short form contains two scales of six items each, making a total of 12
items. The 12 questions given on the first page of the printed test constitute the short form of the MPI.

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Thus, if only the short scale has to be administered, only the first page will be attempted by the subject.
If the full scale has to be administered, both sides of the test need to be attempted by the subject.

Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Both split half and Kuder-Richardson reliability coefficients have been calculated on many samples. For
the Neuroticism scale, these values nearly all lie between 0.85 and 0.90. For the extraversion scale, these
values lie between 0.75and 0.85 with the majority above 0.80. Retest reliabilities are available only on
about 100 cases; they are 0.83 and 0.81 respectively. For the short scale, split half reliabilities on a quota
sample of 2000 men and women were 0.80 and 0.72.

Validity
MPI correlates highly with other scales indicating its high validity. The Heron neuroticism and
sociability scales correlate 0.64 and 0.80 with the corresponding MPI scales. The Cattell’s neuroticism
and introversion scales correlate 0.34 and 0.53 (forms A and B), and 0.65 and 0.67 (forms A and B) with
the corresponding MPI scales. The Taylor’s Manifest Anxiety Scale correlates 0.77 with N and
-0.35 with E on 254 American students. Correlations with Guilford’s C and R scales were 0.92 and 0.79
respectively in the group of 400 members.

Norms
MPI has been administered on a large number of students, both normal and neurotic. The original sample
constituted of 200 men and women. For the purpose of interpretation, the MPI gives norms where raw
scores can be transformed and expressed into standard scores such as Sigma(z) Scores and Sten scores.
Sten scores are a type of standard scores expressed on a standard ten-point scale. They allow to determine
an individual’s relative position to others in a predefined population.

PROCEDURE
Rapport Formation
The test material was kept ready on the table beforehand. Thereafter, the subject was called to the
laboratory and was seated comfortably. A short conversation was held to make the subject feel at ease.
A glass of water was also offered to the subject in an attempt to lower his/her anxiety related to being
tested. It was conveyed to the subject that this test was like a simple activity carried out as a part of the
psychology curriculum and was not meant to check any psychological abnormality. It was made sure
that the aim of the test was not revealed to the subject. Thereafter, the important ethics of informed
consent, voluntary participation and confidentiality of results were shared with the subject. Thereafter,
the subject was instructed clearly on filling in the required demographic details and about how to attempt
the test.

Instructions
The following instructions were clearly read out to the subject:

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“Here are some questions regarding the way you feel and act. There are no right or wrong answers
because different people react in different manners for the same kind of experience. Therefore, what you
feel right is the most appropriate answer for you. For example;

Do you like to indulge in gossip? Yes⟤ ?⟤ No⟤

As you can see, every question has three possible answers: ‘Yes’, ‘?’ and ‘No’. You have to decide
whether “Yes’ or “No’ represents your usual way of acting or feeling, then put a (x) mark in the box next
to “Yes’ or ‘No’. If you find it absolutely impossible to decide, put a (x) mark in the box next to ‘?’. But
do not use this answer very frequently. Work quietly and do not spend too much time over any question.
Give the first natural answer as it comes to you. Of course, the questions are too short to give you all the
particulars you would sometime like to have, even then, give the best possible answer. Be sure not to
skip anything, and answer every question, somehow. You should finish the entire questionnaire in not
more than fifteen minutes. Therefore, work quickly and remember to answer every question.
Are the instructions clear to you? Are you ready to start with the test?” Thereafter, the subject was
allowed to work on the test items.

Precautions
i. The laboratory must be quiet and free form distractions.
ii. The room should be well-lighted, and the temperature and seating should be comfortable.
iii. Materials should be kept ready before the subject is called to the laboratory for attempting the test.
iv. The test administrator must be familiar with what the test is, what it assesses, the duration that is
roughly allowed to complete the test (around 15 minutes), the instructions to be given, the ethics to be
shared and the process of administration in advance.
v. The purpose of the test should not be disclosed to the subject.
vi. The instructions should be read more or less in the same way as they are given on the test sheet, in a
clear, an unhurried, and a friendly conversational manner.
vii. If the subject lingers too long on a question, (s)he should be prompted to carry on and come back to
it later.
viii. The subject should be told that there are no right or wrong answers on the test and the response ‘?’
should not be chosen too frequently.
ix. The answer key (or stencil) should be aligned properly to get the scores on the two dimensions.

Test Administration
Test material was kept ready before-hand. The subject called to the psychology laboratory and was made
to sit comfortably. A rapport was established with the subject. The clear instructions were given to the
subject to mark responses accordingly. They were instructed not to linger on too much on a particular
item, to answer the subsequent test items first and then, coming back to the missed test item. The subject
was allowed roughly a span of fifteen minutes to attempt the test items. The response sheet was
scrutinized for missed items, double responses and the number of ‘?’ responses. The number of ‘?’
responses contribute to a doubtful value if they exceed 10. Thereafter, the subject was asked to write an
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introspective report by reflecting on their experience of doing the test. Subsequently, the scoring and
interpretation for the results were derived.

Introspective report
“ ……………………… ” (as written by the subject and must be written in the double quotes exactly as
the subject wrote. need not be a long. encourage the subject to include their points in a short paragraph)

Behavioral note
(Note that the behavioral report of your subject will differ according to the subject’s behavior you are
observing. DESCRIBE THE BEHAVIOR OF YOUR SUBJECT AS PER YOUR OBSERVATIONS.
Ideas can be taken from the following pointers: Whether the subject appeared- calm and relaxed/ fidgety/
to be thinking while working on the test items. worked on the test very enthusiastically/ seemed
disinterested completed test without any problem or faced difficultly with certain items. On the whole,
was cooperative and followed instructions well (need not be very detailed)

Scoring
The inventory is directly scored by keeping the answer key (stencil) on the response sheet and aligning
it in the right position as per the anchoring ‘Check’ points. If the scores are required only for the short
scale, we retain the total score on each dimension only for the first page of MPI. However, if we require
the scores obtained on both dimensions for the full/ long scale, we add up the scores obtained on both
sides of the personality inventory.

RESULTS
(Write the following on the ruled side)
Refer to the Table 1: Test Results
Refer to the Table 2: Category Corresponding to Sten Scores

(Draw the following tables with your subject’s score on the left hand side on a blank sheet. The tables
must be opposite to the appropriate headings.)

Table 1: Test Results

NEUROTICSM EXTRAVERSION
Raw Score on Page 1 (Short Scale)
Raw Score on Page 2
Total Raw Score (Long or Full Scale)
Sten Score
Category (Refer to the table given
below to know your subject’s category)

(draw the following table below the results table)

Table 2: Category Corresponding to Sten Scores

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 Sten NEUROTICISM Sten Scores EXTRAVERSION
Scores
1-3 EMOTIONALLY STABLE (Low N) 1-3 INTROVERT (Low E)
AVERAGE EMOTIONAL AMBIVERT
4-7 4-7
STABILITY
NEUROTIC/EMOTIONALLY EXTRAVERT (High E)
8-10 8-10
UNSTABLE (High N)

INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS
Personality refers to the characteristic ways of responding to individuals and situations. It refers to unique
and relatively stable qualities that characterize an individual’s behavior across different situations over
a period of time. Maudsley Personality Inventory gives a measure on two important dimensions of human
personality- neuroticism and extraversion, on which a lot of variations is observed across humans,
through its short and long scales.

The subject got a total raw score of ……. on Neuroticism and …… on Extraversion. Using the norm
table, the raw scores were transformed into sten scores. Subject’s sten score on Neuroticism was ………..
and the sten score on Extraversion was ………. . This suggests that the subject is …………………
(Neurotic / Average on Emotional Stability/ Emotionally Stable: Choice of descriptor would depend on
the score) and ……………….. (Extrovert / Ambivert / Introvert: Choice of descriptor would depend on
the score).

Please copy from the following selectively as per the scores of your subject. DO NOT COPY ALL OF
THEM:

NEUROTICISM:

In case the subject has obtained Low score on Neuroticism

The low score of the subject on Neuroticism suggests that the subject is emotionally stable and exhibits
a good emotional control. She/he expresses negative affect only in the face of very major stressors.
According to the scores obtained on MPI, she/he tends to stay calm, even-tempered and collected under
pressure.

In case the subject has scored Average on Neuroticism

The subject is average on emotional stability. A low score on Neuroticism indicates good emotional
control whereas a high score on Neuroticism indicates an inability to control the emotional reactions.
However, the subject is average on this dimension, exhibiting an average level of emotional control.

In case the subject has scored High on Neuroticism

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The high score of the subject on Neuroticism indicates that the subject is emotionally unstable and
exhibits high level of negative affectivity like depressive and anxiety states. The high score on
Neuroticism on MPI is indicative of a touchy, moody, restless, worried, irritable and hypertensive
personality where the subject also tends to quickly lose control over the emotions. He finds himself
unable to inhibit his emotional reactions and experiences negative affect even during minor stressors.
He tends to get easily upset or nervous.

EXTRAVERSION:

In case the subject has scored Low on Extraversion

The low score on Extraversion suggests that the subject is an introvert. This result indicates that the
subject tends to be passive, quiet, peaceful and reserved. She tends to have a preference for individual
activities rather than social interactions.

In case the subject has scored Average on Extraversion

The average score of the subject on extraversion suggests that the subject is an ambivert who lies in the
middle of the Extraversion-Introversion dimension. Neither of the two extremes solely defines his/her
personality. The subject tends to exhibit the components of both outgoingness and a reserved personality.

In case the subject has scored High on Extraversion

The high score of the subject on Extraversion suggests that he/she is an extravert. This indicates a
talkative, sociable, outgoing, active, gregarious and impulsive personality. The subject tends to have a
preference for social interactions over solitary activities.

CONCLUSION
The results suggest low/average/high placement of the subject on Extraversion and low/average/high
placement of the subject on Neuroticism. Hence, MPI indicates the subject to be an
Introvert/Ambivert/Extravert and Emotionally Stable/Averagely Emotionally Stable/ Neurotic
individual.

REFERENCES
MPI Manual
NCERT Psychology Text Book for class XII.